PRESENT – Manja Riihelä, Mikko Sakala

In the works combining photography and painting by Mikko Sakala and Manja Riihelä, people with their eyes closed sink into their inner worlds. The painting that forms over the person and the background detaches from the figure, like a dream in search of its form or a wandering shadow. From the silence emerges a visible thought, the mirror of a focused human mind.

In creating the works, Sakala does not paint an image of a person, but the person themselves. Through various painting methods, makeup, and the use of different materials, the painting event creates a whole, which is captured by photographer Riihelä. The painting event itself is a performance, a small play. This approach opens up new ways to engage with the traditions of painting. The painting breaks the forms and space of reality, thereby building new meanings into the images.

Mikko Sakala (born 1961)

Mikko Sakala is a painter who approaches painting from different angles and perspectives in his work. He often combines various materials or three-dimensional elements into his paintings, or the paintings take the form of a video work or photograph. Sakala lives and works in Sippola at the Art Centre Antares.

Manja Riihelä (born 1963)

Manja Riihelä is a photographer whose work also includes paintings, drawings, and video and installation pieces. Riihelä lives and works in Kouvola.

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